The Health Ministry announced Tuesday that the government has given permission to the Hadassah Medical Center here to perform heart transplant surgery. According to unofficial sources permission will also be given to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa which considers itself
But. Dr. Sami Penhas, director of the Hadassah Medical Center said Wednesday that halachic problems surrounding heart transplants are still unresolved. He said he would meet shortly with the two Chief Rabbis and hopes to reach an
The Health Ministry said it expects Hadassah Hospital to perform about a dozen heart transplants a year. The head of the hospital’s cardiothoracic department, Dr. Yosef Borman, believes 100 lives could
CONSEQUENCES OF RABBINATE’S BAN
It has been banned until now because of the Rabbinate’s objections. The halachic
The ban has forced patients requiring heart transplants to seek them abroad. Newspapers carry advertisements from ad hoc aid committees set up to raise funds for Israelis to have the operation abroad where the costs can exceed $200,000.
The Hadassah and Rambam hospitals are also working toward the capacity to perform the more complex liver transplant surgery. An experimental liver transplant performed on a dog at Rambam Hospital
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